Torres explains tactical struggles

Although Torres has hit 20 goals this season, those strikes have been punctuated by long droughts and significant press criticism, and he has been unable to replicate the form he showed at Liverpool under Rafa Benitez.

He has sought to explain the technical issues that have hindered him at Chelsea, although he is confident that he can ultimately prove himself a success at Stamford Bridge.

He told UEFA's official website: "It's a bit more difficult than my time with him [Benitez] in Liverpool. But it's good as well because we know what we have to do and we have the extra help from the talent of our players. It's not been easy for anyone but the team are improving.

"Every day you learn new things and you change a little bit. The key is to adapt to a new system, new players, a new style of football, and that takes some time. In my case, it has maybe taken more time than it should but after a couple of seasons here I can see how different the team are compared to when I arrived, with different players.

"We have to be clever and focused in the adaptation of the new ideas of the team, the manager and the kind of football we're playing now. This is the main difference. My mind is more open than before and I can see what I have to do to improve."

Chelsea face Basel in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday and Torres says, despite the perception of the tournament, it is keeping the Blues positive and focused while they suffer problems elsewhere.

"The competition is helping the team a lot because it is giving us a lot of satisfaction, not like in the Premier League this season, and we lost the semi-final of the FA Cup, so we were also close. But the Europa League is keeping us in a good mood and we still think it could be a good season.

"We have a young squad and we need to learn how to win and this is a very good way. It is not the Champions League but it is the Europa League. Now we're in the semi-finals, everyone can see we want to win and the team, I think, is happy."